Final Grade Calculator
Use our final grade calculator to find the minimum grade you’ll need to earn on a final exam or to calculate your final class grade.
Minimum Final Exam Grade:
Joe is the creator of Inch Calculator and has over 20 years of experience in engineering and construction. He holds several degrees and certifications.
How to Calculate the Minimum Grade Needed on a Final Exam
Whether you’re a student aiming for a particular grade or simply looking to pass a course, knowing how to calculate the minimum grade you need on a final exam can be a valuable tool.
In most cases, the final exam doesn’t account for 100% of your total grade. Instead, it’s just one component. For instance, your grade might be split into assignments, projects, quizzes and tests, and the final exam. This is referred to as a weighted grade.
Each of these components is given a weight that describes its contribution to your overall grade. The weight is used in conjunction with the grade on each of the components, and then the final grade is calculated using the weighted average formula.
The weight of the final exam is often expressed as a percentage of the total grade. For instance, if the final exam has a weight of 30%, this means the final exam score will account for 30% of your final class grade, with the remaining 70% determined by your performance in other areas.
Steps to Calculate Final Exam Grade
You can calculate the minimum grade needed on a final exam by following a few simple steps.
Step One: Determine your current course grade and your desired overall grade for the course.
Step Two: Identify the weight of the final exam as a percentage.
Step Three: Multiply your current course grade by the weight of all components other than the final exam, which should be equal to 100% minus the final exam weight. This is the contribution of your current grade to the final course grade.
Step Four: Subtract this contribution from the desired overall grade to determine the grade percentage needed for the final exam.
Step Five: Divide this required percentage by the weight of the final exam to get the minimum grade needed on the exam itself.
This formula adjusts your final exam grade target based on how heavily the final exam influences the overall course grade.
For example, let’s say your current grade in a class is 85%, and you have a final exam that accounts for 30% of your overall grade. You want to finish the course with an 80% average or above.
How do you determine the minimum grade you need on the final exam?
Calculate your current grade contribution:
100% – 30% = 70%
Given the weight of 70% for your current coursework, the contribution to the final grade is:
85% × 70% = 59.5%
Determine the remaining grade needed to achieve your desired grade of 80%:
80% – 59.5% = 20.5%
Finally, divide the remaining grade needed by the final exam weight:
20.5% ÷ 30% = 68.33%
This means you would need to score at least 68.33% on the final exam to achieve an overall grade of 80% in the course.
You can use this same process to calculate the minimum grade you need on a final to achieve a desired semester grade for a course.